BYU-Idaho student adds up her future after graduation

Hannah Geiss, a recent graduate of BYU-Idaho and a math education major, has dreamed of working with high school students as a future career.

“I just love math so much, it just makes so much sense to me,” Geiss said. “I love being able to help other people understand math. I was a math tutor for a little bit; it was just so fun to watch peoples’ faces click when they understood what was going on.”

Overall, Geiss enjoyed her experience at BYU-I, the people she met and being a member of the Teacher Education Society.

“I loved my calculus classes,” Geiss said. “I also loved Susan Orme; she was one of the best teachers I’ve ever had. I took Calculus 2 and Linear Algebra from her. She just made it so easy to understand the things that were hard to understand and made it fun. She took the time to get to know everyone personally; it made the classroom feel like family.”

One of Geiss’s past instructors told her she had a gift with calculus. This fueled Geiss’s passion for math education.

According to the BYU-Idaho website, “faculty in the Department of Mathematics (make) it their top priority to help students gain that knowledge and reach their full potential. Whether the students plan to go on to graduate school or right into a career, faculty is dedicated to preparing students for their future.”

With the help of faculty members, Geiss will complete a student teaching internship in Mesa, Arizona teaching a hybrid algebra class at a local high school. This arrangement was available to Geiss through the BYU-Idaho programs. She explained that the school sets up interviews with their partner districts in Utah, Idaho and Arizona.

She feels her experience and lessons learned at BYU-I better prepared her for the internship in January.

“There were practicums where I had to tutor in a classroom two days a week, which were both in Zoom and in the classroom,” Geiss explained. “The school has helped me prepare for both of those situations.”

Through the skills and lessons learned at BYU-Idaho, students like Geiss can better prepare for their education and future career.

“I am so grateful for the teachers at the school and how they have helped me realize my potential,” Geiss said.